Home Insurance - Protecting Your Biggest Investment

Home insurance policies are designed to help protect you from unexpected - and unfortunate - occurrences to your home. Knowing that your home and belongings are protected from damage provides peace of mind by knowing you are protected from suffering major financial burdens. As insurance brokers, Narrows Insurance has a variety of carrier options and customizable products to provide you with a policy that fits your needs.

Home Insurance

Narrows Insurance Provides Home Insurance in the Pacific Northwest Including: Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Kent, Auburn, Port Orchard, and the Greater Seattle Area

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Important Home Insurance Coverages

  • Dwelling Limit (the Rebuild Cost of the Home)
  • Other Structures
  • Personal Property
  • Additional Living Expenses
  • Personal Liability
  • Medical Payments to Others
  • Scheduled Personal Property

Dwelling Coverage (Rebuild Value)

Property or Dwelling Coverage protects the physical structure of your home. It will pay for repairs and rebuilding costs associated with the main structure of your home.

An example of when this type of coverage would be utilized is if it caught on fire and burnt down. Another, more common example (especially in Western Washington) would be a tree falling down during a windstorm and damaging your roof and several walls. (Note: some policies exclude wind damage)

Other Structures

This type of coverage offers protection for secondary structures. Secondary structures are ones that aren't directly attached to your home, such as a detached garage, a shed, or fence.

Personal Property Coverage

This type of coverage protects the items in your home. Clothing, furniture, and electronics (to name a few) can be very costly items to replace. This coverage will pay to replace these items if they are damaged in an event such as a fire or water damage. One thing to keep in mind is that certain items, such as jewelry, usually have low limits and would require additional coverage to insure it to it's full value.

Additional Living Expenses

This type of coverage comes into play when you are no longer able to live in your home after a covered loss occurs. This coverage pays for additional living expenses that are incurred from temporary housing while your home is being repaired or rebuilt. An example of this occurring would be having to live in a hotel for 6 months while your house is being rebuilt after a fire.

Personal Liability

This type of coverage applies when someone that is on your property is either hurt or their property is damaged. Because they are on your property, you are legally liable for the damages. Without insurance, you have to pay out of pocket for any expenses. With insurance, it will cover the cost of damages as well as legal defense costs.

When considering what liability limits you need, the assets you own and your income are important factors. Most policies will cover up to $500,000. If you need higher limits, an umbrella policy should be considered as they raise the limits of insurance.

Medical Payments to Others

This type of coverage will pay for the medical expenses of guests that are injured on your property. It will not provide coverage to you or any of the household members, only guests.

Scheduled Personal Property

As previously mentioned, policies usually have lower limits for things like jewelry, art, guns and collectibles. Most of the time these limits don't provide adequate coverage for the property's value. For example, some policies have a $2500 limit for jewelry. This is not enough to cover many types of jewelry, but fortunately these items can be scheduled on the policy with increased limits. What this means is that each desired item will be individually listed on the policy with a stated value of what you would like to insure the property for. Keep in mind that your premium will also reflect these stated values.

Discounts

Many carriers offer discounts to customers. These are based off a number of things, such as safety precautions or bundling more than one policy together. Here is a list of things that carriers may give you a discount on:

  • Multiple Policies (with the same carrier): Bundling more than one policy, such as home and auto policies
  • Alarm System: Anti-burglar and surveillance cameras can help you qualify for a discount
  • Fire Safety Systems: Includes things like sprinklers, smoke detectors, fire-resistant building materials
  • Age of Home: Newer houses tend to be cheaper due to being less prone to issues arising from old materials
  • Claim-Free: Not having any filed claims for the given time frame (usually 3-5 years)
  • Renovation/Updates: Replacing things such as electrical, roofing, and plumbing

Types of Homeowners Insurance Policies

  • Homeowners (Owner Occupied)
  • Secondary Home (Owner Occupied)
  • Condo
  • Manufactured and Mobile Home
  • Renters Insurance (Tenant Occupied)

Homeowner policies vary drastically in pricing and coverage. The type of policy form you select, the amount of coverage chosen, and the type of home you are insuring are variables in the rating determination.

Everyone’s situation for insurance is unique. It is important to find insurance that fits your needs. One of our insurance professionals can help assess what your needs are and help design a home insurance plan that will protect you at an affordable cost.

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